After 3 albums and ten years of touring and recording, The Helio Sequence (Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel) have recorded their most dynamic, extraordinary work to date. Keep Your Eyes Ahead marries the Portland duo’s signature layered keyboards and impossibly big guitars with crisp songwriting and a newfound appreciation for minimalism. The finger picking on “Shed Your Love” is backed by exquisite strings and ambient noise, but Brandon’s serene, self-assured delivery remains front and center. While songs from the band’s early releases spanned up to 7 minutes, even the longest, lushest, catchiest track on Keep Your Eyes Ahead (fiery anthem “Hallelujah”) clocks in at 4 and a half minutes, evidence of just how refined their craft has become. Vocals were recorded spontaneously in bedroom closets and living rooms, which may explain the haunting urgency you hear in Brandon’s voice, especially on driving tracks like “Keep Your Eyes Ahead.” The band also took its time on the album.

“It’s the most solid album in the group’s discography, haunting with moments of near perfection.”—Alternative Press

“This confident piece of work is like mannah from the heavens for college rock fans, freshening up loose, rhythmic song structures with a charming lo-fi aesthetic.”—Billboard

   Blending Malian, American and “Dirty South” influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe “has set a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music,” says Banning Eyre at Afropop Worldwide.

Since forming in early 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has been credited with bridging the gap between West African and American music unlike any group before them, quickly winning a diverse and devoted following at top venues such as the Bonnaroo and Vegoose festivals to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Their live shows and self-titled debut album have won international acclaim from the New York Times, Global Rhythm, fRoots, NPR and more.

The members of Toubab Krewe developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries such as Lamine Soumano, Vieux Kante, Madou Dembele and Koungbanan Conde. The band kicked off 2007 in Essakane, Mali, where they played the legendary Festival of the Desert, known as the most remote festival in the world.

The band is currently working on their sophomore album with Grammy winning producer Steven Heller, slated for release in early 2008.